450,000 displaced as Pakistan attacks militants

By Aliza Kassim, CNN

Updated 5:38 AM ET, Wed June 25, 2014

Pakistanis flee North Waziristan14 photos

Children being given polio vaccines – A Pakistani health worker gives a dose of polio vaccine to a child in Bannu on June 25. The World Health Organization has launched a campaign to stop the spread of the illness as hundreds of thousands of people flee North Waziristan.

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Pakistanis flee North Waziristan14 photos

Pakistani Army launches offensive – Displaced Pakistani civilians rest on their arrival in Bannu on June 24. The Pakistani Army launched an offensive on militants near their homes in North Waziristan, forcing many to seek safety.

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Pakistanis flee North Waziristan14 photos

Food in short supply – The influx of displaced people has put pressure on the town. The World Food Programme has started supplying aid, but some say it was too slow coming. Here, a man walks with a wheelbarrow of provisions from the WFP food distribution point.

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Police and troops keep order – Pakistani soldiers stand guard near the WFP distribution point as displaced persons from the North Waziristan region wait to receive provisions.

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Angry scenes as people wait for aid – A displaced Pakistani civilian protests against the food shortage. Many expressed anger anger at the long delays.

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Queuing for food – Civilians gather to receive food aid on June 23. Many have opted to stay with family or rent accommodation rather than residing in the government-run camp.

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For some, the wait was too long – Displaced Pakistanis force their way into a food distribution center.

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Government is registering those fleeing – A Pakistani soldier frisks a civilian at the Bannu Frontier Region registration point for displaced people on June 22. At registration centers, people are receiving cash handouts to buy food and other items, the U.N. says.

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A place of refuge – Displaced Pakistani Christians attend a church service. Most of the people fleeing are women and children. The men have stayed at home to protect their homes and livestock.

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Women, children far from home – A displaced Pakistani woman takes care of her sick child at the Women and Children Hospital in Bannu on June 21.

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Delivering aid – A sick child falls asleep after receiving treatment at the Women and Children Hospital. The United Nations says more facilities are needed to cater for the large numbers of women and children from North Waziristan.

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Villagers flee North Waziristan – Pakistani children arrive by truck in Bannu, after fleeing the North Waziristan tribal region on June 20. As of Wednesday, 455,000 people had fled, according to the United Nations and the government.

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Rations being shared – Hungry Pakistani children eat rice together on their arrival in Bannu.

Story highlights

Civilians flee North Waziristan as planes strike militants

More than 250 insurgents have been killed, army says

The Pakistani Taliban is among the targets

More than 450,000 Pakistanis have fled their homes for safer areas in the past two weeks as the military has attacked suspected anti-government militant hideouts in northwestern Pakistan, disaster management officials said Tuesday.

Many of the displaced civilians have moved from the North Waziristan region, where the military campaign is largely focused, to camps in Pakistan's nearby Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the country's army.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held a special meeting with government ministers about the exodus on Tuesday, his office said.

"Government is with (the displaced citizens) in these hard times and they will be taken care of," Sharif said.

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Pakistan launched a military operation in North Waziristan and other restive parts of Pakistan's loosely governed tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan on June 15. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the offensive is meant to "finish off" militants in the area "once and for all," Asif told CNN. The Pakistani Taliban is among the targets.

More than 250 insurgents have been killed, according to the army. That includes 47 killed in airstrikes Tuesday, including 27 in North Waziristan and 20 in a different portion of the tribal areas, the army said.

The tribal areas are a base for anti-government militants, including those with the Islamist Haqqani movement.

Scores of vehicles moved toward North Waziristan to evacuate stranded people. Local tribesmen complained last week that transporters were charging high rates because of a severe shortage of vehicles.

About 455,590 people, including 191,897 children, have fled, according to Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority.

Food and cooking oil are being distributed to the civilians at six locations in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the army said.